NFL Analyst offers ludicrous take on Minnesota’s trade history, demonstrating once again the disconnect with national media and the

The Minnesota Vikings have a history of making unusual trades.

They’ve been on the receiving end of some pretty nice ones, including trading away both Percy Harvin and Stefon Diggs, as well as two moves down in the top ten with the Cleveland Browns, which netted the Vikings free choices on day three for just moving down one spot.

Of course, everyone remembers the Herschel Walker trade. It failed for a variety of reasons, the most significant of which was the overvaluation of the players sent over in the trade, which included conditional draft picks. The Cowboys did not want the players, so they released them and used the picks to establish the last dynasty before the salary cap.

Vikings worst trade of the previous ten years is off base.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report compiled a list of each team’s worst trades over the last decade, and he chose an unusual one that is unlikely to come to mind.

Knox predicted the Vikings would trade for Sam Bradford before the 2016 season.

In a hurry, then-GM Rick Spielman dealt for Bradford. Of course, the Rams’ first-round choice in 2010 had a significant injury history, including torn ACLs in 2013 and 2014, which is why the Eagles traded up for Carson Wentz in the 2016 draft and were willing to deal Bradford afterward.

The Vikings gave up a 2017 first-round pick and a conditional 2018 fourth-round pick. That’s a lot for an often injured player who was clearly not regarded as Philly’s quarterback of the future. Bradford made 17 starts for Minnesota over the course of two seasons.

Bradford did play some of his greatest football of his career in 2016, with a 99.3 quarterback rating and a 7-8 record as a starter. However, he was unable to return Minnesota to the playoffs that year, and he only played two games the next year before needing season-ending knee surgery. Keenum took over and guided Minnesota to the NFC Championship Game.

There should be a lot more context here. The Vikings desperately needed to find a quarterback because they lacked enough insurance for Teddy Bridgewater, who had his knee dislocated during a workout at the end of August. Shaun Hill proved insufficient as a backup quarterback, thus the Vikings were forced to pivot.

To be fair to the Vikings, that could have been Taylor Heinicke, but he was recovering from a serious ankle injury sustained while attempting to enter his apartment.

While the Vikings did give up a first-round pick and a fourth-round pick the following season, the deal wasn’t too awful. Bradford was extremely talented, but knee issues eventually caught up with him. It’s also not the worst move they’ve done in the past decade.

Many of the Vikings’ past transactions were worse. Some would refer to general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s trade down in the first round of 2022, but the transaction was fair; the outcomes simply stunk. That is not one that should qualify.

Consider the Yannick Ngakoue trade, in which the Vikings gave up second- and fifth-round picks, but they immediately cut their losses when the season stalled and reclaimed third- and fifth-round picks a few weeks later. Oh, Ngakoue is still the team leader in sacks.

However, two additional moves, albeit at a lower level, should have been included.

In 2019, the Vikings traded a fifth-round pick to acquire kicker/punter hybrid Kaare Vedvik. He looked great for the Baltimore Ravens, but they didn’t have room to keep him. The argument was that the Vikings handed away the pick so they wouldn’t have to compete for Vedvik on waivers.

Unfortunately, he only lasted a few weeks until the Vikings waived him. They essentially gave up a fifth-round pick for a tryout, and it failed.

The other, which was worse, was a trade for Chris Herndon during 2021 roster cuts. They made the move after Irv Smith Jr. underwent a bucket-handle meniscus repair, which ended his season. The notion was that the fourth-year tight end would serve as a stopgap substitute for a regime attempting to save their jobs.

Herndon seldom played, and when he did, it was a complete failure. It just didn’t work for the Vikings, and acquiring a tight end may have made a significant difference.

Were either of those transactions large in scale, similar to the Bradford transaction? Absolutely not. However, they were tremendous disappointments that brought nothing beneficial. Bradford had a number of strong games for the Vikings, so it’s difficult to pick the worst from several contenders.

Jan 5, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus (44) tips a ball from Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) intercepted by Minnesota Vikings linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. (0) during the first half at Ford Field.